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Can Minnesota Make History At NCAAs And Win Its First Title Since 1948?
- Cory Mull
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
Last September, Matt Bingle met before his University of Minnesota men’s track and field team and issued a statement.
Let’s show everyone in the NCAA just how good we are.
Bingle set his sights then on an achievable objective: Finish the Big Ten Conference Championships in the top two and follow with a top 10 outing at the NCAA Championships.
Nine months later, his vision remains in play.
From the Brink of Disappearance to National Prominence
“The mission we talked about is still in place,” said Bingle, Minnesota’s Director of Track and Field and Cross Country whose Gophers were tied for second with Wisconsin at Big Tens with 81 points. “Everyone is excited for the opportunity to see what happens.”
That opportunity is a rather historic moment for a program like Minnesota. After all, it was just five years ago that this team was on the chopping block when tight wallets and the pandemic prompted a few universities across the U.S. to consider cutting athletic programs.
Bingle was just a few years on the job.
The Minnesota men’s track team were able to walk away from the cliff, though only barely. The university’s Board of Regents still cut indoor track and field -- along with men’s gymnastics and men’s tennis -- allowing for the outdoor track and field team to remain (though the men’s team has since had opportunities to compete unattached over the indoor season).
In the ensuing time since, the Gophers haven’t only managed to get by, but they’ve thrived, building an annually competitive program that even produced an Olympian in 2024 – 3,000-meter steeplechase athlete Matthew Wilkinson, a 2023 graduate and two-time Big Ten champion.
This week, Minnesota will chase after an NCAA team title, with 10 athletes spread across seven events, including four athletes in the 4x100-meter relay.
The (Unconventional) Formula for NCAA Gold
The Golden Gophers, who last won a national collegiate title in 1948 -- when the meet was held in Minneapolis -- are about as antithetical as you can get with a track and field program.
Minnesota's greatest strength is in the field events, harkening back to that great 2018 University of Georgia team, which powered to a national title in the field disciplines and was led by Petros Kyprianou, a coach who always believed in building a diverse roster.
But to be fair, Minnesota might need just a little bit more -- they might just need their relay team to put together an epic two-round haul in the 4x100.
Minnesota enters as the 10th-ranked team in the country according to the USTFCCCA. But crazier things have happened. Just last year, Florida claimed a national team title with a meager 41 points -- their third national title in a row and fifth over the last eight seasons.
Then again, the Gophers might have a bit more fight.
“We’ve been preparing for this 4x100-meter relay since October,” said Ibrahim Kabia, Minnesota’s sprints, hurdles and jumps coach. “The goal is to become national champion. That’s still the goal.”
Late last week, Bingle said he wasn’t focusing on the result of the NCAA Championships. Naturally, no coach would.
The objective is to get through the first set of events on June 11th, and then get as many individuals and teams to the finals on June 13th. The Gophers have an opportunity to secure points right away with the men’s hammer throw and the men’s long jump. The pole vault and the first round of the 4x100 are also going to be completed on Day One.
Minnesota is ranked 1-2 in the hammer behind the NCAA’s tandem of Angelos Mantzouranis and Kosta Zaltos, two Bowerman Award vote getters who enter with the only two performances in the circle over 250 feet this season.
“That will tell us where we’re at real quick,” Bingle said.
From there, Minnesota sports the No. 2 triple jumper in the NCAA (Hakeem Ford) and the No. 2 long jumper (Charles Godfred). If a national team title is to be won, then the Gophers will need optimal results in their main three events.
The Golden Gophers Have Everything to Prove
How has Minnesota managed to compete nationally against programs with sprint-heavy rosters?
Few would doubt the Gophers operate with a chip on their shoulder. After nearly getting cut in 2020, no one inside the program takes anything for granted anymore.
“For me, personally,” Bingle said, “I feel like I have to prove everything, all the time. I’ve always had that mentality, wherever I’ve coached. You have to prove it each year. That’s the mentality of where I’ve been and that’s the standard we’re trying to put in front of the student athletes.”
Kabia echoes those sentiments, only he goes a step further.
On paper, Minnesota isn’t the ideal setting for sprinters. But they have a brand new outdoor track and an indoor facility with a Mondo track. Kabia says none of his athletes have ever used excuses as to why they couldn’t be more competitive.
“It doesn’t matter what challenges are in front of us,” Kabia said. “We will try to overcome them. That’s how our staff operates. It doesn’t stop us from getting the best athletes in the world.”
This weekend, the Gophers’ fight and resolve will be on full display. And if they win their first team title since 1948?
Well, sometimes you’re meant to surpass that vision.